This site is dedicated to the publication and promotion of books and media that best portray all the wondrous dimensions of the true Catholic imagination with its faithful perception and contemplation of all visible and invisible reality made new by the living presence of the Word Incarnate. May this array of exemplary books and blogs extol and instill a gladsome and playful experience of the Catholic sacrificial mindset and sacramental worldview. May traipsing through these pages whet your wits and brighten your witness to the beauty of truth at the Heart of the World , in the Face of the Word.

Laudato Si Second RoundIt is being argued by some that even if over-all spiritual teachings in the Encyclical are good and poetically expressed, the fact remains that the document will be used by our enemies as proof that even Catholics agree on these issues, to promote abortion, contraception, etc. for their usual agendas.

This is probably true, however, to hark back to other eras:

In the time of Jesus, the Zealots wanted to overthrow Rome. Roman rule was certainly full of evils of many kinds. The Zealots thought maybe Jesus could overcome Rome , since he was getting so popular. Does that mean Jesus should have been a Zealot instead of our spiritual savior? He condemned in His spiritual teaching what was wrong when Romans or anyone else did evil. Did that mean that He was really a Zealot in disguise?

Now Pope Francis is condemning many things that are wrong in our world which are also condemned by some who are certainly not Catholic believers. Does that mean that he has joined their ranks and we need to go into schism? At the same time he condemns some of them for putting animal rights over the rights of unborn babies.

Or, in the 19th century, there were Communists condemning the exploitation of the poor. They were dangerous enemies of the Church. Many communists were involved in the movement of labor unions. Pope Leo XIII came out behind the union movement as a remedy. Does that mean he was allying the Church with the Communists?

Holy Spirit, if I am wrong about anything I think concerning Church issues, please send others to correct me. Help us all to speak the truth with love.

Pope Francis Laudato Si – second Encyclical I started to read it not expecting to like it. Why not? Well, I know almost nothing about facts concerning the environment or economics. Also I was afraid it would feed into the ideas of those who are more concerned about whales than babies in the womb. In fact, Pope Francis chides such people for not understanding that if we are to protect the vulnerable the unborn babe in the womb surely comes first!Reading it confirmed me how upset I get when some very strong magisterial Catholics go by web-sites instead of original sources and sometimes don’t even know what is taught in the Catechism of the Catholic Church! (Don’t we, on “our side of the Church” talk about how the famous ad in the NY Times dissenting from Humanae Vitae was written and signed before the final document came out!)

Just to clarify. What is in Enyclicals is only infallible on faith and morals if it teaches what the Church has always taught. Infallibility doesn’t apply to applications concerning facts which can be changing with the times. Dietrich Von Hildebrand used to explain that usury is still wrong! What changed is that banking made taking reasonable loans on interest something that helped the poor. The applications of the principle change not the principle.However, whether in certain circumstances and times capitalism helps the poor the most or not we can differ on. My parents, ex-Communists, and right wing Republicans, loved the way capitalism helped the poor, but they certainly understood and taught us about the problem of poverty world-wide and never denied that unchecked capitalism can be exploitative of the poor as in industrial sweat-shops – the present applications such as trafficking mentioned by Pope Francis are certainly real.

I would hope that readers, not of headlines, but of the whole document would not deny that capitalism can be a force for sins of greed as well as a force for good. What I loved was most of the Franciscan part of the Encyclical. To start, though, what I didn’t like was a way of talking about our relationship to the animals that leaves out that the Church has never taught vegetarianism, so, after all, slaughtering animals for meat is a huge part of our relationship to them! However, on the positive side, I never really considered environmentalism in relation to the Franciscan sense of nature as Creation or that a technological paradigm can cause some of us to only see nature as something for use and not for contemplation.

A third order Franciscan friend of mine who is also one of Fr. Hardon’s Marian Catechists, Gary McCabe, put it this way: Certainly in Chapter I, sec 1, the Holy Father gets into the politics of pollution and climate change. Especially in the area of climate change, where he assumes the "settled nature of science" (which studies he does not specify), I think he'll receive some criticism.

(Before sending you more comments on the Encyclical, for now, a hit tune from the 20's (the 1220's) by that really cool dude, Francis:

“The Canticle of Brother Sun Most High, all powerful, good Lord, Yours are the praises, the glory, the honor, and all blessing. To You alone, Most High, do they belong, and no man is worthy to mention Your name. Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures, especially through my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day; and you give light through him. And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor! Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness. Praise be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars, in heaven you formed them clear and precious and beautiful. Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind, and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather through which You give sustenance to Your creatures. Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water, which is very useful and humble and precious and chaste. Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire, through whom you light the night and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong. Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Mother Earth, who sustains us and governs us and who produces varied fruits with colored flowers and herbs. Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love, and bear infirmity and tribulation. Blessed are those who endure in peace for by You, Most High, they shall be crowned. Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, from whom no living man can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin. Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will, for the second death shall do them no harm. Praise and bless my Lord, and give Him thanks and serve Him with great humility. AMEN “The Legend of Perugia, 43, narrates the circumstances of the composition of the first section of the Canticle, in which the saint invites all creation to praise its Creator. The author describes the intense suffering of the Poverello in that period after he had received the stigmata… the Little Poor Man does not lose himself in space or in the vastness of the created world. He becomes so intimate and familiar with the wonders of creation that he embraces them as "Brother" and "Sister," that is, members of one family. More than any other aspect of the Canticle, this unique feature has enhanced the spiritual tradition of Christian spirituality.” (This introduction on the "Canticle" has been taken from: The Classics of Western Spirituality - Francis & Clare - Translation and Introduction by: Regis J. Armstrong, OFM, Cap. and Ignatius C. Brady, OFM).

July 24, 2008“Everything Passes.”Holy Spirit:(This locution makes constant reference to the poem of St. Teresa which is the frontispiece of this series: “May nothing disturb you. May nothing astonish you. Everything passes. God does not go away. Patience can attain anything. He who has God within, does not lack anything. God alone is sufficient.”)You think you have let go of everything but “God alone” but at the threat of any change for the worst you become frantic “troubled and astonished,” You want to cling to what you know. When it eludes your grasp you have a choice: despair or trust.We allow that pain of real or seeming loss to help you to replace earthly possessions with spiritual possessions. “God is enough” because the source and depth of everything is in God.Do you see how it is all in the Gospels? Mary Magdalene wants to hold onto the resurrected Christ but he tells her “do not cling to me, I have not yet ascended to the Father.” (John 20:17) He tells the disciples they cannot cling to Him, but He will not leave them orphans. They must be open to the Jesus they will find through Me, the Holy Spirit.At the fear of loss you beg Us for help. You may feel ashamed to be so needy; to want so desperately to possess. We tell you to look upward where your treasure is ascending. We promise that if you “seek first the kingdom of heaven, all things will be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33)

July 25, 2008“Thy Will be Done!”Holy Spirit:Your underlying motive for doing what is good can sometimes be to please others. Their pleasure in you makes you feel secure, that you won’t lose them.It doesn’t work. Why not? You are not a clone or a slave. There are limits on how well you can meet every need and desire of another human. On the positive side, your own personhood seeks freedom to develop independently. Another person can reject you whenever you act not as a clone or as a slave. Then you feel devastated, cast out of relationship into a void.When you say the Lord’s prayer: “Thy will be done,” and mean it, you break-through the dismal cycle of dependence on human affirmation. You seek a higher motive for your acts.Jesus certainly didn’t please the powers of His time! In His human nature He had to be willing to accept the total rejection of most men to fulfill the will of His Father in heaven. It is because He knew Him so intimately as His Father that He could accept being crucified by men.Do you see how the phrase in the prayer “Thy will be done” comes as a result of the first line “Our Father.” It is not a formula. It’s a reality. Through sacraments and prayer you become truly one with the Father. Then you have the strength to act out of the knowledge of being totally loved. More and more you are doing the will of the Father. You don’t have to look around all the time to see if you are pleasing the people around you.

The first step may be understanding this truth. That can happen in an instant. Only gradually, however, can We heal your hearts of the wounds of failed attempts at trying to find security in human love.As this process continues, look at every choice you make and ask Us to help you answer questions such as these:- Is this act good in itself?- Am I doing it primarily because of its goodness (Thy will) or only to please a human? (How do you know? There are different ways but one way to see is whether if human approval is lessened or removed you still want to do it.)Then ask Us to give you wisdom and prudence and fortitude to carry out Our will. Accept that when you throw yourself whole-heartedly into what you think is God’s will you may be rejected or the work may be stopped by opponents or just circumstances.(Today the conflict with the close friend was resolved with mutual forgiveness. Thanks be to Jesus, Mary, Joseph, God the Father, the Holy Spirit and our angels. But I still felt kind of shattered and exhausted by it. This locution seemed as if the Holy Spirit was trying to bring truth out of it.)

July 22, 2008ImpasseHoly Spirit:The natural way in battle is fight or flight. It is perilous to transport that pattern into spiritual warfare. You are to “fight the good fight” (1 Timothy 6:12) and sometimes flee shaking the dust off your feet. But these responses to evils must be taken up first into your more basic goal of following the way of Jesus. That way has love at its center: not revenge or earthly survival.

The night before the crucifixion Peter tried to draw his sword to defend Jesus. Jesus said no. Then Peter fled. John and Mary and Mary Magdalene and others chose neither fight nor flight but to stand under the cross.

Situations arise where you are brought to a standstill. You are at an impasse where the desire to fight or flee are in such conflict that you don’t know which to choose. Do not act out of rage or fear. Cry out to Us so we can show you if there is another way that is better. Listen to the advice of holy friends. Then commend yourself to Us and act with confidence that we will bring good out of your decision.

July 23, 2008Standing Your Ground Under the CrossHoly Spirit:When in a conflict between two goods, you would like Our guidance to be asimple affirmation of your own greatest leaning. (I think the Holy Spirit wanted me to relate what follows to choices in my mind of fight or flight in a particular conflict situation). Often you see the choice as between two extremes such as fight or flight. You add up the fantasized satisfactions of either course. You might not even think of trying instead for the cross of love and trusting that We will bring good out of the pain for all concerned.Jesus said “keep them in the world, but not of the world.” (John 17:15) To be kept “in the world” is a counter to the desire to flee from conflict. To be kept from being “of the world” is a counter to fighting as in pitting your natural strength against that of others.When you come to Us for guidance, then, try not to be self-protective but to be wide open for the way of love. In conflict, standing your ground under the cross might be avoiding hasty judgment in favor of deep listening.

Dear friends reading my blog,No, new insights or anecdotes from June 2015, but I am continuing with these:From God Alone, alleged messages to Ronda from 2008. See 12/18/14 for explanation.

July 20, 2008Comfort at the CoreHoly Spirit:

In the body/soul unity of your personhood, you find both physical and emotional comfort through the assuagement of your needs, when you are warm and fed and also feel safe. We usually have you grow in the shelter of the family.We lead some saints to toss aside such physical comfort to prove to the human race that there is something greater than “bread alone.” But most of you we lead slowly step by step to enjoy a sense of well-being in the Spirit through music, art, being surrounded by the arms of the Church building. We bring you into the sacraments where mysteriously through the visible you can be saved and comforted by Our invisible presence.

We wean you from total immersion in physical comforts toward the separation of soul and body at death. Our plan is not for you to feel terrified, but rather by greater and greater union with the Holy Family to be comforted in your souls as you make the transition.To show you that one day the body will be restored to you transfigured, we give you homey images of Jesus’ resurrected body such as cooking fish for His followers and promising them that one day they will find themselves in mansions prepared for them by Him where there will be no more tears.

July 21, 2008“The Twinkling of an Eye”Holy Spirit:We give you enough of a view of the distant shore so that you will be willing to pull with your oars toward the goal. You are often so tired that all you want is to give up. We understand. Can you see that these messages are a glimpse of the shoreline?

Of course, tired sailors have to pace themselves. When you over-exert yourselves you are more likely to collapse. Pacing yourselves means often resting your oars and gazing at the shore. You do that when you stop to pray even for an instant. We value such prayer more than you do. We want you to receive our encouragement, as a sportsman turns for a moment in the direction of the coach.Do you really believe in the words of the great champion, St. Paul, that one day all will be changed in the twinkling of an eye? Would we give you “a stone instead of a fish?”It will help you to sing as you row. If you listen up you will hear Us singing with you.

I was visiting a new friend overnight in her house. I was gradually fascinated by the way this woman in her fifties moved about doing housework, cooking, etc. She did everything gently and slowly. I asked her how she got this way and here is what she said: I always like the feel of expensive restaurants where the waiters never rush around and yet it all gets done when it should. I used to be much more frantic and it just made me and everyone around me frantic...don't know how I changed... I stopped worrying and just let things flow. I woke up shortly after that visit with this question in my mind: what would it be like to have the rest of my life not staccato but adagio?

I was marveling about how God sent me another new friend this year who has helped me so much. Jesus seemed to say to chide me: “So slow to understand. My Father, who loves His children, tries every possible way and His whole army of instruments to try to overcome those defenses of His children, so the floodgates of His love can enter: heal, transform, save, and finally bring through the gate of death to heaven.

I have been watching a You-Tube Russian with English titles version of The Brothers Karamazov done in 2008. It is extraordinary. Just google The Brothers Karamazov You Tube 2008 if you want to watch.I thought that one of Doestoveky’s messages was that his characters are universal. Every man is Dmitri, Ivan, Aloysha, Smerdyakov, and when sanctified Zossima? And every woman is Grushenka and Katerina and Madame Hohlakov, and when sanctified Mary?

More from God Alone – see December 14, 2014 for explanation of these “messages.”

July 18, 2008TransparencyHoly Spirit:(During the Retreat Fr. Ken, the pastor of the Church where I was during the time of these “messages” said that a spiritual master used to give this method of following the injunction in the New Testament to pray constantly: In every minute take one second to lift your heart to God; in every hour take a minute to lift your heart to God; in every day take an hour to lift your heart to God; in every week take a day to lift your heart to God; in every year take a week to lift your heart to God. I snapped back with “so, do you actually do this, Fr. Ken?” I thought he would say something funny in reply but he looked at us with the same absolutely solemn expression he has at Mass and said. Yes, more or less.)

(Now, here is what the Holy Spirit seemed to tell me about this incident):You humans develop a teasing and self-deprecating banter to cover your jockeying for power or your shy fear of rejection. All the more, how beautiful it is when We succeed in overcoming all that to make openings between you where, unexpectedly, there it is: the voice, the eyes, simply revealing your deepest selves. That is what was meant when we taught you that you must be vulnerable to be able to heal. Such transparency happens. It is grace. You cannot make it happen. It is a foretaste of heaven where there will be no concealment and there will be no reason to fear.Can you imagine the power that was in the transparent contact when Jesus looked at a person directly in the eyes before performing a miracle, or when He said “It is ‘I”?Great artists know how to convey that focused transparency when they paint the holy face. Look and learn!

July 19, 2008In His Footsteps(I have a grandson, Nicholas, who looks at lot like Jim Carviezel as Jesus in The Passion. It happened Nicholas was staggering under the weight of a large couch he was dragging from the back of his van. His body assumed the posture of Jesus carrying His cross.)Holy Spirit:You make the Stations of the Cross as a devotion often with contemporary words to relate them to your own lives. Still you do not always see that you are treading in the footsteps of Jesus when it is your own suffering:- the agony of impending physical or emotional pain;- the being under the will of powerful strangers;- the horror of submitting to unjust judgment;- present inescapable pain;- the falling from a status of popular acclaim to being an object of criticism or ridicule; - the finality of loss by death, literal or figurative.Of a sudden We help you identify with Him on this bloody road. For a second you see that you are not alone. If you stay with that identification, you can become a true Christian. Then you will feel also in your own bones many resurrections.

(I was so happy to see the Holy Father, Pope Benedict, expressing so clearly in his words what these messages mean me. His words were in answer to a question from an Italian seminarian who had been at World Youth Day about how to continue with the Holy Spirit. I read it in Zenit on August 19 but I am putting it hear for you as you continue reading these locutions:“This is why I think that the most important thing is that we ourselves remain, so to speak, within the radius of the Holy Spirit's breath, in contact with him. Only if we are continually touched within by the Holy Spirit, if he dwells in us, will it be possible for us to pass him on to others.

“Then he gives us the imagination and creative ideas about how to act, ideas that cannot be planned but are born from the situation itself, because it is there that the Holy Spirit is at work. Thus, the first point: we ourselves must remain within the radius of the Holy Spirit's breath.“St. John's Gospel tell us that after the Resurrection the Lord went to his disciples, breathed upon them and said: "Receive the Holy Spirit." This is a parallel to Genesis, where God breathes on the mixture he made with the dust from the earth and it comes to life and becomes man.“Then man, who is inwardly darkened and half dead, receives Christ's breath anew and it is this breath of God that gives his life a new dimension, that gives him life with the Holy Spirit.“We can say, therefore, that the Holy Spirit is the breath of Jesus Christ and we, in a certain sense, must ask Christ to breathe on us always, so that his breath will become alive and strong and work upon the world. This means that we must keep close to Christ….

“And of course, first of all in the blessed sacrament of the Eucharist in which he comes to us and enters us and is, as it were, amalgamated with us. Then, however, also in the sacrament of penance, which always purifies us, which washes away the grime that daily life deposits in us…“All this must determine the shape that our day takes in such a way that it becomes structured, a day in which God has access to us all the time, in which we are in continuous contact with Christ and in which, for this very reason, we are continuously receiving the breath of the Holy Spirit.“If we do this, if we are not too lazy, undisciplined or sluggish, then something happens to us: the day acquires a form and in it our life itself acquires a form and this light will shine from us without us having to give it much thought or having to adopt a "propagandist" -- so to speak -- way of acting: It comes automatically because it mirrors our soul. To this I would then add a second dimension that is logically linked with the first: If we live with Christ we will also succeed in human things.“Indeed, faith does not only involve a supernatural aspect, it rebuilds man, bringing him back to his humanity, as that parallel between Genesis and John 20 shows: It is based precisely on the natural virtues: honesty, joy, the willingness to listen to one's neighbor, the ability to forgive, generosity, goodness and cordiality among people.”

Dear Readers of my Blog,I thought Our Lady of Medjugorje's Message to Marija, May 25, 2015 would resonate with most of you. I found it strengthening."Dear children! Also today I am with you and with joy I call all of you: pray and believe in the power of prayer. Open your hearts, little children, so that God may fill you with His love and you will be a joy to others. Your witness will be powerful and everything you do will be interwoven with God's tenderness. I am with you and I pray for you and your conversion until you put God in the first place. Thank you for having responded to my call."

My grandson, Alex Conley, who is in first year law school had fun writing this for the family. CHORE CONTRACTI. GENERALa. All signatories hereby agree to all of the provisions below individually and in conjunction with the other provisions.II. DURATIONa. This contract shall be effective as of ____________ ____, 2015.b. This contract and all provisions therein will be valid and binding on all signatories.III. AMENDMENTSa. This contract will be amendable at any time.b. Amendments must be put into writing and agreed upon unanimously by all signatories.

IV. DISPUTESa. Disputes shall heretofore be defined as any disagreement or misunderstanding relating to the language of the contract, the language of the CHECKLIST, or any disagreement or misunderstanding with another signatory which arises in out of this contract.b. All disputes arising from this contract or any provision of this contract must be raised by a signatory in a reasonable and expedient manner.c. Failure by a signatory to raise a dispute regarding the contract reasonably and foreseeably will result in a waiver of that dispute, unless all parties unanimously agree otherwise.d. All disputes will be brought to the attention of every signatory, and can be resolved only by the unanimous agreement of every signatory.e. If a unanimous agreement as to a dispute cannot be reached, the contract will remain unchanged.

V. CHECKLISTa. A CHECKLIST containing a list of all the chores and those parties that shall be responsible for the completion of each chore will be drafted and agreed upon unanimously by all signatories.b. An initial draft of the CHECKLIST will be written by ________(The Father) within a reasonable time after the signing of this contract. i. The initial draft must be sent to and approved by every signatory to this contract, within a reasonable time. ii. Any misunderstandings or ambiguities regarding the initial draft must be timely raised prior to approval. iii. Once approved unanimously by all signatories, the initial draft will become the CHECKLIST.

c. The CHECKLIST will be a binding agreement on all the signatories to this contract.d. Any latently discovered misunderstandings or ambiguities as to the CHECKLIST will be subject to the DISPUTES process above.

VI. FUN and ENJOYMENTa. There will be an attempt to implement FUN and ENJOYMENT into all chores which are done in a group.b. Neither FUN nor ENJOYMENT will have any strict definition or requirements, but the manner of FUN and ENJOYMENT will be agreed upon by the signatories who wish to have FUN or ENJOYMENT that working on the group chore at the time.c. Any signatory working with a group on a chore in which FUN or ENJOYMENT has been implemented will not be required to take part in aforementioned FUN or take any aforementioned ENJOYMENT from the chore. i. No pressure shall be placed to have FUN or ENJOYMENT on those signatories not taking part in FUN or ENJOYMENT by any other signatory. ii. Any signatory choosing not to have FUN or ENJOYMENT can withdraw from the aforementioned FUN at any time, and can cease taking ENJOYMENT from the chore at any time.d. Refusal to take part in the aforementioned FUN or ENJOYMENT will not be used against a signatory in any other way related to this contract or the CHECKLIST.

a. The signatory that is required by the CHECKLIST to do the “clearing” job associated with the “dishes” chore will be required for the duration of this contract to do the task of TABLE CLEANING.b. The specifications and requirements of TABLE CLEANING will be agreed upon within a reasonable time of the signing of this contract. i. The specifications and requirements of TABLE CLEANING must be unanimously approved to by all parties.ii. Once approved, the specifications and requirements of TABLE CLEANING will be binding on all signatories.VIII. LAUNDRYa. 10 year old daughter Martina’s laundry will be washed and dried every _____________, by either her father or herselfb. ZACHARY CONLEY’s laundry will be washed and dried every ______________, by ZACHARY CONLEY.c. MAXIMILLIAN CONLEY’s laundry will be washed and dried every ______________, by MAXIMILLIAN CONLEY.d. All laundry done by any signatory shall be started prior to __:_____ PM on the day stipulated above, by the signatory stated above.e. Failure by a signatory to do laundry on the day given above does not give the signatory a right to do laundry at a different day or time without the unanimous approval of all parties.

IX. SIGNATURESa. The signing of this contract will create a binding and enforceable agreement between you and all other signatories.SIGNATURE of Father: __________________________________________ DATE: ________________SIGNATURE of Mother: __________________________________________ DATE: ________________SIGNATURE: __________________________________________ DATE: ________________Maximillian ConleySIGNATURE: __________________________________________ DATE: ________________Zachary ConleySIGNATURE: __________________________________________ DATE: ________________ Martina________________________________________________________________

William Bernard Ullathorne, great English archbishop and friend of Blessed Cardinal Newman, on his deathbed, was asked if he saw the angels. He replied “Yes, I see the angels coming for me, and the devil is a jackass!”

On the Feast of St. Philip, on Universalis, which has an old translation of the English, I found this lovely wording of the prayer for liturgy of the hours: “let the Holy Spirit inflame us with that fire with which, in so admirable a way, he took possession of Saint Philip’s heart.”

More from God Alone locutions. For an explanation of these, see 12/18, 2014 blog.

July 15, 2008“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”Holy Spirit:Jesus warned you about hoarding; about a false sense of security for those who take no risks. Because He was the “Way, the Truth and the Life” He asked his children, his followers, to risk even death on a cross for a heaven they could not see.In spite of the evidence of the miracles, many followers, even the closest, chose flight over the risk of crucifixion. Can you blame them?At certain moment in each of your lives you come to a crossroads where the price of faith seems too great; everything to gain by being a spectator instead of a player…or so it can seem.How often Jesus chided the people for their lack of faith. This would be cruel unless He, Himself, had given them the evidence to make the leap. Hands are dragging you back to the safety of skepticism? Whose hands are waving to you from a better place on high?(I thought of St. Paul – first totally skeptical to the point of persecuting and arranging for the death of Christians, but then converted by a vision only he saw.)

July 16, 20081,2,3, Go!Holy Spirit:At race or a performance, you train and train and train and then it is upon you and you have to let go of everything else and rush into the act.We want you now to be decisively focused, not on a physical feat but for loving response. That is what poverty of spirit is about. Only when you are empty of your self-protective calculations can we fill you with our energies of love.But it is not as if you were a mere instrument or machine. It is precisely through your natural, freely responding personality that We want to work.- Think of a mother singing to her babe.- Think of a carpenter smoothing a piece of word.- Think of St. Peter looking at the fish in the net and envisaging them as the men Jesus told him he would catch for the kingdom.-Think of the people you call holy.Don’t you feel in them this readiness to respond? Yet they are not tense, just truly present and in their eyes you see their love.It is all right if these words make you feel inadequate. That should lead you the more to welcome Us in prayer.

July 17, 2008Watching and WaitingHoly Spirit:In the light you see beautiful qualities in each other. These you want to embrace that you might have them always with you.Shortly afterwards the shadows fall over the image and you see only what is dark, closed in, finally a mere outline. From this vision, dismayed, you recoil; reject.How can human love be steadfast if that is the only cycle? Who can survive such scrutiny? It would seem that only inertia would keep any of you together.Is our Christian call to love, then, no more than a pathetic fantasy?That would be to think only the perfect is real. That is one way of transcendence; one form of “God Alone is Enough.” The disciples wanted to stay on top of the mountain with the transfigured Jesus, never to return to the city.Another way to understand "God Alone is Enough," that We wish for you, is to cherish the sparks of the beautiful divine you see in each other and forgive the limitations and betrayals. Then, wait for your mercy for them and theirs for you to show you a redeemed goodness. That We call the coming of the kingdom, the transition. When God Alone is Enough you can love each other with tenderness instead of thirst.

Author

Ronda Chervin received a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Fordham University and an MA in Religious Studies from Notre Dame Apostolic Institute. She is a dedicated widow, mother, and grandmother.Ronda converted to the Catholic Faith from a Jewish, though atheistic, background and has been a Professor of Philosophy and Theology at Loyola Marymount University, the Seminary of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and Franciscan University of Steubenville. She is an international speaker and author of some fifty books about Catholic thought, practice and spirituality. One of her latest is LAST CALL, published by Goodbooks Media.Dr. Ronda is currently teaching philosophy at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut.You can contact her via e-mail by clicking here or by emailing chervinronda@gmail.com directly.Visit her websites:here and here.